When Zhao Ling emerged from the room, he was puzzled to see that his wives weren't looking at him strangely.
Had Tong'er not mentioned the disappearance of her clothes?
If that were true, his wise and magnificent image had been preserved and not shattered. Phew, what a relief.
Zhao Ling secretly sighed in relief and then came before the five women, saying.
"W-wives, I'm leaving the manor for a bit. I need to go to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan to earn some... assets for our future children."
"Hmm, Two of Bamboo..." Liu Erlong discarded a two of bamboo from her hand.
Ah Yin's eyes immediately lit up, and she called out, "Pong... Four of Bamboo."
Xiao Rou, seeing that the four of bamboo was something she didn't need, casually drew a tile and then discarded a nine of characters.
Xiao Wu's face instantly broke into a wide smile.
"Hehe, I win! Mom, you truly are my good mom, in sync with my thoughts. Did you know I was waiting for a nine of characters, so you discarded it for me to win?"
Xiao Rou's mouth twitched wildly, and she rolled her eyes at her daughter in exasperation.
"Don't be silly! This nine of characters was a pure single tile; I couldn't discard anything else. If I had known discarding the nine of characters would make you win, I would rather have discarded a gold one..."
"Mom, how can you say that? We're mother and daughter; you definitely knew what I was waiting for, that's why you discarded it for me."
Xiao Wu pouted unhappily, then turned her head and looked at Zhao Ling with a puzzled expression.
"Hmm, husband, aren't you going to earn some assets for our future children? Why aren't you leaving yet?"
The other three women, who were still "building the great wall" (playing mahjong), also turned their heads and looked at him in confusion.
"Yes, husband, why haven't you left yet? Is something wrong?"
"Husband, our family relies on you to earn money and support us. You're truly working hard."
"Husband is awesome! Long'er loves you to death."
...
"Uh..."
Zhao Ling felt a bit disheartened at that moment. His wives were completely lost in their play; all they did all day was play mahjong.
They wouldn't even acknowledge him when he came out of the room to talk to them. What kind of situation was this?
Sigh, times are degenerating, human hearts are no longer what they used to be...
Zhao Ling secretly sighed, then turned and slowly walked towards the door. His seemingly desolate figure made Tang Wutong, the only one not playing mahjong, feel a pang of heartache.
She quickly stumbled over, threw herself into Zhao Ling's arms, and then stood on tiptoe to give him a deep, affectionate kiss on the lips.
"Darling, come back soon. Everyone and I will be waiting for you..."
Zhao Ling immediately felt healed by her kiss. He gently raised his hand and stroked her head, nodding in agreement.
"Okay, then I'm off. I'll definitely go and return quickly."
With that, Zhao Ling strode towards the main gate. Tang Wutong followed him to the door, watching until his figure disappeared into the crowd.
After Tang Wutong closed the door, she slowly walked towards the mahjong table, only to hear the four women whispering.
"Won't it be bad for us to deliberately give husband the cold shoulder? What if he gets angry and comes back to cause trouble for each of us?"
"Hmm, it probably won't come to that, right? Didn't Little Qi comfort him? Hehe, when husband comes back, he'll probably go to Little Qi again, and we'll get some rest."
"Aunt Yin'er, Mama Erlong, is this really okay? Always leaving husband to Little Qi; it doesn't seem fair to her, does it? After all, she..."
Xiao Wu's slender brows furrowed slightly, looking worried, but it only drew a playful retort from Ah Yin.
"What's wrong, Xiao Wu? Are you feeling sorry for your daughter? How about you go and suffer with Little Qi when husband comes back?"
"Uh... I think I'll pass. That child Little Qi has grown up. I'm sure she understands what it means to bear one's own responsibilities."
Xiao Wu shook her head like a rattle drum. Anyway, she didn't want to be "dealt with" by Zhao Ling for at least a week.
"How about... sisterXiao Rou, you go help that child Little Qi? She's your biological granddaughter, you..."
Ah Yin, seeing Xiao Wu's flat refusal, turned her gaze to Xiao Rou, trying to deflect the trouble.
But unexpectedly, Xiao Rou twitched her mouth after hearing this.
"Big sister Yin'er, you're talking! Little Qi is also your biological granddaughter by blood, why don't you go help her?
You always want her to face our husband alone. Do you honestly feel good about that?"
Just as they were about to argue further, Tang Wutong completely lost her composure and asked with a dark expression.
"Mom, Grandma, Maternal Grandma, Grandma Long'er, you're all finished! You dared to deliberately give husband the cold shoulder just so he'd only "harm" me!
When husband comes back, I'll tell him everything, and you can all wait for his revenge! How can you be elders like this? Since you're not kind, don't blame me for being unfilial!"
With that, Tang Wutong puffed out her cheeks in anger and tottered towards her room. She was very angry now, and the consequences had to be very serious.
Mom, Maternal Grandma, and Grandma actually teamed up to mess with her without any martial ethics. Then she had to fight back! At the very least, she would make sure husband "dealt with" them so much that they couldn't get out of bed for days.
Uh... The four women were instantly embarrassed. They had been chatting too excitedly just now and hadn't even noticed Little Qi walking behind them. This was truly awkward.
If husband heard Little Qi say that the four of them had collectively given him the cold shoulder, he would definitely be unhappy. Perhaps as soon as he returned, the four of them would be in trouble. Oh, what a headache!
Liu Erlong's eyes darted around, and a mischievous smile appeared on her lips: "How about we, since we've already started..."
Xiao Rou rolled her eyes: "Sister Long'er, are you trying to kill your adopted granddaughter just to avoid being 'dealt with' by husband?"
Xiao Wu quickly blocked Liu Erlong, saying unhappily: "Mama Erlong, how can you think of killing Little Qi? That's going too far!"
Liu Erlong unhappily raised her hand and poked Xiao Wu's head and Xiao Rou's head: "What nonsense are you talking about? Little Qi is my adopted granddaughter after all; would I do something so insane?"
"Then what do you want to do? Don't tell me you want to kill our husband???" Xiao Wu immediately became alert, her expression even more serious.
"Slap..." Liu Erlong slapped her own forehead, completely speechless.
"Please, what kind of strength does husband have? Four years ago, he could already fight a 99th-level Limit Douluo to a draw. Now, our husband probably rivals a deity without issue. Could we kill him???"
"Then you want to..." Ah Yin was even more confused. What kind of suspense was sister Long'er trying to build? Couldn't she just say it directly?
"Hehe, let's just go back to my house and stay for a few days. When husband's anger subsides, we'll come back.
Anyway, my father rarely comes home, and even if he does, he has to rush back to the clan on the same day." Liu Erlong showed a mischievous smile.
"Uh..." The other three women couldn't help but hesitate, especially Xiao Wu, who hadn't even reached level 70 yet. What if she ran into a Titled Douluo expert outside...? Wouldn't her identity be exposed then?